A December 2002 court case summary published in OBG MANAGEMENT revealed that laminaria was left inside a woman who had an abortion eight years prior.

The case from the Westchester County (NY) Supreme Court, accused a doctor working for the abortion clinic of inserting the laminaria into her uterus rather than her cervix causing her to be in pain for years.

From the report:

A 19-year-old female presented to a woman’s center for an abortion.

On the first day of the 2-day procedure, the physician inserted 3 laminaria into the patient’s vagina in order to stretch the cervix. The following day, a second physician performed the abortion under real-time ultrasound.

Eight years later, the patient experienced severe cramping and bleeding, which led to a laparoscopy. Clinicians discovered that the
laminaria used during the abortion remained inside the woman.

In suing, the plaintiff claimed that she suffered cramping and heavy…